Sunday, January 6, 2013

Lowbrow Nail Art: Inspired by Shag's "Fondue Set"

Yesterday in my post I spoke about my love for the work of Josh Agle- professionally known as Shag. He is the ultimate in hipster sophisticate lowbrow art (also called pop surrealism). It's fun, it's fresh, it's retro, and it's very tongue-in-cheek. 

Though his works tend to be very candy colored and glossy and are chock full of opulent and swanky subject matter, there is always a darker side lurking. It is not too often when someone asks you which piece do you like the most of this artist and your unwavering response is "every last damn one". I was so thrilled when Jesse liked him to. I remember saying when we were dating, " When we get married we are so going to buy a Shag".  Luckily we did both of those things. 

The piece I chose to interpret was "Fondue Set" from his 2004 Holidays On Ice collection. I primarily did this using nail art brushes and mixing different lacquers, and it was a bit tricky. I would have loved to sharpen up the detail a bit, but I think it is a decent representation overall.



For the sky I mixed Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Fuchsia Power, Finger Paints in Paper Mache, and Julep's Gayle. The mountains are a blend of Finger Paints in Paper Mache, and Julep's Gayle, and the mountain tops are the same with a bit more Paper Mache. The trees are January Julep Maven release, Fiona ( a stunning neon lime creme) and Stripe Rite in White.

The ski bunny's background was a blend of Finger Paints in Paper Mache, and Julep's Gayle. She was created with Stripe Rite in White, Finger Paints striper in Ch-art-coal Black, and her lips and eyelids were done with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Sunkissed. 


The fondue pot's background was a mix of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Sunkissed and Sinful Colors' Nirvana. The pot itself was a blend of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Sunkissed, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow and Finger Paints in Paper Mache. The chocolate in the pot was painted with Sinful Colors' Nirvana and the details were done with Stripe Rite in White and Finger Paints striper in Ch-art-coal Black.

 
Hope you enjoy this just as much as I did doing it! Now what will be my next inspiration...

6 comments:

  1. I'm not familiar with Shag's work, I poked around on his site a bit, but I'll have to check him out some more. Great job on the execution, I love how you interpreted his work! :)

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    1. thank you so much... I definitely think I will attempt another of his works in the future, but one where there is less color mixing...lol. I hope you enjoy finding out more about him, it's not meant to be "high class" or "fine art" but it is very well done...

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  2. That detail is amazing--I don't know how you could sharpen it up any more!

    I've never seen that artist, but his work makes for good slightly-open interpretations like yours--he seems to use simplified lines and there's a little bit of randomness, so even if your lines aren't perfect, it still looks perfect!

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    1. Thank you so much! I think my problem is that I am a total Shag fan-girl and I am feeling like "nope, not as good..." This was a great exercise to try to interpret a piece of art, and I actually have another one that I'll be posting soon...

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  3. Wow! You got some skills here. Very cute and fun.

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    1. thank you very much, Olivia! I had a great time doing it... I really enjoy testing what I can do with my lacquers. It's an adventure every time...lol

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